Diagnosing Alzheimer's: How Alzheimer's is diagnosed

Diagnosing Alzheimer's: How Alzheimer's is diagnosed

An accurate diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease is an important first step to ensure you have appropriate treatment, care, family education and plans for the future.

Early signs and symptoms of Alzheimer's

Early signs and symptoms of Alzheimer's disease include:

Memory impairment, such as difficulty remembering events

Difficulty concentrating, planning or problem-solving

Problems finishing daily tasks at home or at work

Confusion with location or passage of time

Having visual or space difficulties, such as not understanding distance in driving, getting lost or misplacing items

Language problems, such as word-finding problems or reduced vocabulary in speech or writing

Using poor judgment in decisions

Withdrawal from work events or social engagements

Changes in mood, such as depression or other behavior and personality changes

Alzheimer's disease can affect several aspects of your daily life.

When warning signs of Alzheimer's disease appear, it's important that you get a prompt and accurate diagnosis.

Diagnosing Alzheimer's

To diagnose Alzheimer's your primary doctor or a doctor trained in brain conditions (neurologist) will review your medical history, medication history and your symptoms. Your doctor will also conduct several tests.

During your appointment, your doctor will evaluate:

Whether you have impaired memory or thinking (cognitive) skills

Whether you exhibit changes in personality or behaviors

The degree of your memory or thinking impairment or changes

How your thinking problems affect your ability to function in daily life

The cause of your symptoms

Doctors may order additional laboratory tests, brain-imaging tests or send you for memory testing. These tests can provide doctors with useful information for diagnosis, including ruling out other diseases that cause similar symptoms.

Ruling out other diseases

Your doctor may order other tests to rule out diseases that may be causing your symptoms.

You may have laboratory tests to check for thyroid problems or vitamin B-12 deficiency.

You may be evaluated to determine if depression may be contributing to your symptoms.

Doctors will perform a physical evaluation and check that you don't have other health conditions that could be causing or contributing to your symptoms, such as signs of past strokes, Parkinson's disease or other medical conditions.

Neuropsychological tests. You may be evaluated by a specialist trained in brain conditions and mental health conditions (neuropsychologist). The evaluation can include extensive tests to evaluate your memory and thinking (cognitive) skills.

These tests help doctors determine if you have dementia, and if you're able to safely conduct daily tasks such as driving and managing your finances. They provide as much information on what you can still do as well as what you may have lost. These tests can also evaluate if depression may be causing your symptoms.

Interviews with friends and family. Doctors may ask your family member or friend questions about you and your behavior.

Doctors look for details that don't fit with your former level of function. Your family member or friend often can explain how your thinking (cognitive) skills, functional abilities and behaviors have changed over time.

This series of clinical assessments, the physical exam and the setting (age and duration of progressive symptoms) often provide doctors with enough information to make a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease. However, when the diagnosis isn't clear, doctors may need to order additional tests.

Laboratory tests

You may have laboratory tests to rule out other disorders that cause some symptoms similar to those of Alzheimer's disease, such as a thyroid disorder or vitamin B-12 deficiency.

Brain imaging tests

Alzheimer's disease results from the progressive loss, or degeneration, of brain cells. This degeneration may show up in a variety of ways in brain scans.

However, these scans alone aren't enough to make a diagnosis. Scans aren't used to diagnose the condition because there is overlap in what doctors consider normal age-related change in the brain and abnormal change.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). An MRI uses powerful radio waves and magnets to create a detailed view of your brain.

Future of diagnosis

Researchers are working on new diagnostic tools that may enable doctors to diagnose Alzheimer's disease earlier in the course of the disease, when symptoms are very mild or before symptoms even appear.

Scientists are investigating a number of disease markers and diagnostic tests, such as genes, disease-related proteins and imaging procedures, which may accurately and reliably indicate whether you have Alzheimer's disease and how much the disease has progressed. However, more research on these tests is necessary.

Benefit of an early diagnosis

Reluctance to go to the doctor when you or a family member has memory problems is understandable. Some people hide their symptoms, or family members cover for them. That's easy to understand because Alzheimer's is always about loss, such as loss of independence, loss of a driving privileges and loss of self. Many people may wonder if there's any point in a diagnosis if there's no cure for the disease.

It's true that if you have Alzheimer's or a related disease, doctors can't offer a cure. But getting an early diagnosis can be beneficial. Knowing what you can do is just as important as knowing what you can't do. If a person has another treatable condition that's causing the cognitive impairment or somehow complicating the impairment, then doctors can start treatments.

For those with Alzheimer's disease, doctors can offer drug and nondrug interventions that may ease the burden of the disease. Doctors often prescribe drugs that may slow the decline in memory and other cognitive skills. You may also be able to participate in clinical trials.

Also, doctors can teach you and your caregivers about strategies to enhance your living environment, establish routines, plan activities and manage changes in skills to minimize the effect of the disease on your everyday life.

Importantly, an early diagnosis also helps you, your family and caregivers plan for the future. You'll have the chance to make informed decisions on a number of issues, such as:

Appropriate community services and resources

Options for residential and at-home care

Plans for handling financial issues

Expectations for future care and medical decisions

When a doctor tells you and your family members about an Alzheimer's diagnosis, he or she will help you understand Alzheimer's, answer questions and explain what to expect with Alzheimer's. Doctors will explain what capacities are preserved and how to limit future disabilities, and look to keep you as healthy and safe as possible with the least disruption in your daily activities.